


Lion Tamer

by Lady_Sci_Fi



Series: Adventures in Egypt [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-17 04:55:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13069584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Sci_Fi/pseuds/Lady_Sci_Fi
Summary: When the Doctor and Sarah come across a lion in the desert, Sarah discovers another of the Timelord's many talents, and something about the two of them.





	Lion Tamer

 Sarah pulled the reins on the camel to get him to stop as they reached the abandoned structure. It was easy to see that while it was half-ruined now, it had been impressive at one time. The Doctor slid off from Ajat behind her, and took her hand to help her down.

 They weren’t far from the Giza Plateau, and the pyramids still dominated the view in that direction. They were far enough away from any towns or villages to not see any other person.

 “I wonder what this place was for,” Sarah said, laying her hand on a carved stone pillar with fading paint.

 “Sekhmet, the lioness,” the Doctor answered.

 “How do you know?”

 The Timelord pointed to a stone statue near the center of the outdoor area of structure. There was no mistaking the lioness head atop the standing female body. Sand had buried her feet and shins.  Sarah went to get a closer look at the statue. “Warrior?” she noted the spear in one of the statue’s hands.

 “And healer,” the Doctor added.

 Sarah smiled to herself at the words. Two words that described a certain man in her life.

 Both turned at the low growl behind them. Sarah reached out to take the Doctor’s hand, and he pushed her behind him. Their camel took off running.

 “How appropriate,” the Doctor said of the unexpected presence. “A lion in a temple of Sekhmet.”

 This was a male lion, large and powerful-looking. He growled at the pair again, and took a couple steps forward. The Doctor took a step forward as well. Sarah yanked on his arm. “What are you doing?”

 The Doctor didn’t turn his gaze from the lion to look at her. “Trust me.”

 Sarah pulled on his arm again when she noticed a female lion standing on a stone slab to the side of them.

 “Just stand still,” the Doctor advised, taking another step forward.

 Sarah was about to comment on how he told her to stay still, but was walking straight to a lion himself, and sighed instead. Their hands let go of the other’s as the Timelord kept going. Sarah kept her eyes on a swivel, trying to keep both the lioness and the lion in view without moving her legs. She muttered,” You’re insane,” at the Doctor’s back.

 “You’re not going to hurt us, are you?” the Doctor asked the animal in a soothing tone. “You don’t want to do that.”

 The lion growled again, louder than before. “Doctor!” Sarah hissed.

 The Timelord dismissively waved his trailing hand at her and kept all his attention on the animal, the gap between them closing.

 Sarah glanced to lioness again. “I hope you’re not hungry… or angry.”

 The Doctor and the lion now had little enough distance between them where if the lion decided to pounce, the Doctor wouldn’t have any time to dodge. Sarah could only watch, heart pounding, as the two males circled each other. She spared a look back to the lioness to find that her attention was also on the two, instead of on her.

 Sarah couldn’t help the thoughts of what if the two lions decided to attack? With the daggers she and the Doctor had, they could put up some defense, but how much damage would the lions inflict on them first?

 The lion roared, making Sarah flinch. Instead of going for the dagger on his waist, the Doctor took a small step towards the beast, not showing any sign of being intimidated. He kept eye contact, though Sarah realized his expression wasn’t quite challenging. It was certainly focused, but not hard and set.

 Eventually, the lion’s expression softened, and the two of them stopped circling. The Doctor then did something that Sarah definitely thought was crazy, and slowly sank down to one knee. Weren’t you supposed to make yourself look big when confronting a predator animal? What was he doing? There would be no way he could react in time if the lion turned completely hostile.

 “That’s it…” the Doctor whispered. He slowly reached out a hand to the lion. Sarah expected the lion to take the bait and bite it, and had to stop herself from shouting out to the Doctor. Whatever was going on between the two, she knew she couldn’t break the moment.

 “I won’t hurt you… and you don’t want to hurt me…” the Doctor encouraged. His hand stopped only inches from the lion’s mouth, and he kept it completely steady.

 Only then did the eye contact between Timelord and lion break, as the lion looked to the hand in front of his eyes. After a few seconds, he stepped forward twice, until the side of his face could brush against the offered open palm.

 The Doctor smiled as the lion nuzzled against his hand. Then he crawled forward on knees and one hand. Once close enough, he pressed his forehead to the lion’s, and both closed their eyes.

 “You have to be joking,” Sarah muttered. Still, she couldn’t deny that the sight was… well, adorable.  Both males with their calm expressions and similar wild hair. She flinched, but stopped herself from crying out in surprise and fear at the hard bump at her hip. She slowly turned her head to see the lioness at her side, and the animal bumped her head against Sarah’s hip again. She had been so transfixed by the delicate dance of the Timelord and lion that she had forgotten about the other animal. Sarah’s tongue nervously darted out. “I… I hope that’s friendly.”

 “Sarah,” the Doctor called out to her.

 Sarah turned back to the males, and saw that they were still in the same position. “Yes?”

 The Doctor reached out to her with one hand and beckoned her over.

 Sarah asked, “Are you sure that’s safe?”

 “Trust me.”

 Sarah didn’t have much choice but to follow the request, with the lioness bumping against her again, nudging her forward. “Alright, alright, don’t be pushy,” Sarah said, taking tentative steps.

 The Doctor leaned back away from the lion, and turned to smile at Sarah. He kept one hand against the beast’s head. He waited until the woman had reached out and taken his hand to say, “He’s accepted me.”

 “Of course he’s accepted you,” Sarah remarked. “You have more than a passing resemblance.”

 The Doctor chuckled. “Yes, I suppose I do.” He gently tugged Sarah closer and told her to kneel like he was. Once she had, he told her, “Now, hand out, slowly, gently…”

 “What if he doesn’t accept me?” Sarah protested, trying to keep her voice calm.

 “Shh… he will.”

 Sarah sighed, and steeled herself before slowly reaching out to the lion’s face. Once her palm made contact with the warm fur, and the lion did not bite it off, she let out some of the breath she had been holding.

 The lion stepped in closer, nuzzling against Sarah’s hand. The Doctor took his hand from the other side of the lion’s face away, and turned to the lioness who had nudged his side. “Oh, hello there.” He gently patted her neck.

 Sarah let out an involuntary squeak when the lion suddenly slid in past her outstretched arm. He practically headbutted her to press his forehead to her face, knocking her off-balance. Then it started sniffing at her, and all Sarah’s could see and feel was a course dark brown mane.

 “I told you he’d accept you,” the Doctor said, petting behind the lioness’ ears.

 Sarah awkwardly patted at the mane as she lifted her head up enough to see the Timelord. “I don’t believe this.”

 “Don’t believe what.”

 “You. You just tamed a wild lion within a few minutes of meeting it.”

 “I don’t know if I tamed him. I just convinced him we weren’t a threat.”

 “Close enough.” Sarah smiled at the lion when it finally backed away. The lioness followed his lead, and the two animals got together and seemed to be having a conversation.

 The Doctor pulled Sarah to her feet and said, “No danger at all.”

 “No danger?” Sarah shook her head. “Only you would call a confrontation with wild lions no danger.”

 “Alright, a little danger,” the Doctor shrugged.

 The two lions approached them, and gestured with their heads towards the interior entrance of the small temple. Ah… seems they want to show us something,” the Doctor deduced.

 “Or they want to lure us in to have us for lunch,” Sarah quietly pointed out.

 The Doctor flashed Sarah an exasperated look, and took her hand to follow the lions.

 Sarah didn’t protest, but pointed out, “You do realize Ajat ran off, with our things.”

 The Doctor didn’t look at all concerned. “He won’t run far.”

 “Won’t run far? From lions?”

 “He’ll get himself away from immediate danger. He’ll come back.”

 “Right. Okay then.”

 The pair stepped into the interior part of the temple, and followed the lions into a side-room. Lit by the sunlight coming in through a window above their heads, they could see several lions lounging about. There were also several cubs playing.

 “They have a pride,” Sarah said.

 The Doctor nodded. “This would be a nice place for one to live. Rather appropriate too, considering the honoured goddess.”

 Another male lion approached the intruders, and the one who had led them here seemed to make a case for them, if none of the other animals attacking them on sight was of any indication.

 “We probably met the leader,” the Doctor whispered in explanation of the pride’s acceptance of their presence.

 Sarah shook her head. “Only you would somehow manage to charm our way into a lion den.”

 The lion pair led them to a corner, where three cubs were playing with a rib bone. The Doctor and Sarah sat as the pair laid down. One cub climbed onto the lioness’ back. The other two cautiously approached the Timelord and Human.

 “Hello, there,” the Doctor greeted, holding his hand out for them to inspect. “Curiosity at a young age should only be encouraged.”

 Sarah held back a little, not quite believing that the pair was going to simply let them play with their cubs. But the two looked completely at ease with the idea. They made no move to stop the cubs. She and the Doctor had seriously been invited into a lion den to meet the rest of their family.

 The cub going to Sarah dropped the bone in its mouth and licked her knee. Sarah tentatively patted its head. She looked over to the Doctor, who was confidently petting the other curious cub behind the ears. Seemingly spurred on by the attention its sibling was getting, the one with Sarah hopped into the woman’s lap and stood on its back paws to get closer to her face. Sarah nervously glanced to the parents before petting down the cub’s back.

 “It’s perfectly alright, Sarah,” the Doctor encouraged. “If their parents have any objections, they’ll let us know.”

 “I’m worried about how exactly they’ll let us know,” Sarah replied.

 “Relax, or you might put them on edge.” The Doctor moved his face in close to the cub he had, and cooed, “You’re just the sweetest girl,” as it licked him.

 Sarah sighed, but couldn’t help the smile as the cub in her lap butted its head against her chest. “Alright, alright,” she chuckled, scratching under its chin.

 This only encouraged some of the other cubs in the pride to come over to investigate the visitors, and soon the Doctor and Sarah found themselves surrounded by them.

The Doctor laughed as he fell over onto his side, willingly responding to the pushing pressure that a few did against him. It was an open invitation for them to start climbing all over him.

 Sarah let out a little yelp as one cub bit down on her fingers, more from not expecting it than pain. Still, the lioness who had brought them in let out a warning growl to the cubs. Sarah guessed it meant something like “Don’t play too rough.”

 “Sarah?” the Doctor called out softly. “Could you help…?”

 Sarah quickly saw the problem, and couldn’t suppress a laugh. One cub had gotten its little claws entangled in the Timelord’s hair. “Oh dear… Don’t move your head.” Sarah scooted to him and gingerly started maneuvering the little paws around. “Probably likes it because it’s close enough to his dad’s hair.”

 “Probably.” The Doctor grimaced slightly as his hair was tugged.

 The cub mewled in protest as Sarah finally lifted it free of the Doctor’s hair and set it in her own lap. “How about you stay with me a while?” She had to move her head back when it went for her hair. “Oh no, I don’t need that treatment, too.”

 The lion they had come in with made a low sound and tapped its paw in the Doctor’s direction. “I think I’ve been summoned,” the Doctor said to Sarah before he crawled over to the lion. The two males did a gentle headbutt, and the Timelord settled down, sitting and leaning back against the animal’s ribcage.

 To Sarah’s further surprise, it looked like the two started having an actual conversation, as the Doctor played with the cubs that had followed him.

 “You should be proud of your pride. It’s impressive… No, Sarah and I don’t have one… Just the two of us…”

 Sarah eyes were caught by the lioness’, and she made the same summoning motion as her mate. “I don’t think I’ll be as chatty as him,” she said in response. Still, she obeyed, and with only the Doctor’s behavior to model hers on, also touched her forehead to the lioness’ in greeting. The lioness nuzzled against her cheek and neck for a moment, then let Sarah sit similarly to the Doctor against her.

 The cub on the lioness’ back sniffed at Sarah’s hair, and settled on nibbling on the shoulder of her dress. It was careful not to bite on skin.

 Sarah felt the need to say something to the lioness. “You have a beautiful family. Thank you for sharing this with us.” She turned her head to watch the Doctor for a moment, grinning at how he playfully roared and swiped at the cubs that came near. Sarah noticed one cub had gotten onto the lion’s back and was going for the Doctor’s hair. “Doct-“

 But the lioness had also spotted the mischievous cub and growled a warning at it. Looking somewhat dejected, it rolled off the lion’s back.

 Sarah’s heart absolutely melted as one cub, perhaps the first one that had approached the Doctor, climbed into the Timelord’s arms and curled up against him. The Doctor stared down at it, gently stroking a finger down its back. “Such a sweet girl,” she heard him mutter.

 Sarah leaned over to quietly tease, “No, we can’t keep her.”

 The Doctor raised his brow at her. “I would do no such thing to upset our hosts.”

 Some time later, the lion and lioness got up, and so did the Doctor and Sarah. The lion pair gestured for them to follow, and led them back outside. The sun had moved to a less oppressive position in the sky.

 The Doctor bowed his head, and Sarah did the same. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

 “Quite gracious,” Sarah added.

 The Doctor took a few steps away and loudly called out, “Ajat! Ajat!”

 Sarah looked at the statue of the lioness-headed goddess, smiling at it. “Appropriate, indeed,” she whispered.

 Their camel came bounding up to the Doctor a few moments later, though obviously wary of the two lions that stood near Sarah. Sarah bowed her head at the pair again before climbing up onto the camel and taking the reins. The Doctor climbed up behind her, and wrapped one arm around her middle.

 Sarah steered the camel out of the temple complex ruin, and she noticed the two lions following. Not too close to scare Ajat, but close enough to know it was purposeful. The Doctor explained, “Protecting us through their territory, I expect.”

 Sarah could only shake her head in amusement. “That was… you are amazing. Anyone working with wild animals would love to have you.”

 “I’m sure. But, my lion-taming talent isn’t for hire.”

 Sarah hummed, and they were quiet for several minutes. They ascended a sand dune, and Sarah had Ajat turn so they could see the temple ruin again before it could disappear from view. The two lions stopped walking, and let off a unified roar, which Sarah interpreted as one of warning for anything nearby that might want to hurt the Timelord and Human. 

The statue was partially visible from this angle, and Sarah asked, “Do you think Sekhmet is our goddess?”

 “What do you mean?”

 “What she symbolizes. Warrior and healer.”

 “Hmm… I suppose… in a way… she could be.”

 The two watched the lion pair turn and head back to the temple. Sarah sighed in content and looped her arm backwards around the Doctor’s neck. “I have a lion of my own.”

 “Oh?”

 “Strong, dependable, protecting… beautiful…”

 The Doctor leaned in close to say into the woman’s ear, “I would say those same words of my lioness.”

 Sarah blushed slightly and bit her lip, then turned her head to kiss the man’s cheek. “So, where to next, my lion?”


End file.
